CTA DEALS DON'T ADD UP FOR EVERYONE

Jon HilkevitchCHICAGO TRIBUNE

The final two phases of what the Chicago Transit Authority describes as a "simplified and more flexible" fare system will take effect Dec. 15 and Jan. 1, making this a good time for CTA riders to engage in an up-close and personal conversation with their wallets.

Judging reaction to the changes introduced in November, Getting Around sees that many CTA riders--particularly those who ride buses only or who use the transit system only to commute between home and work--haven't found a way to cash in on the "new lowered fares" proclaimed on CTA placards around town. These customers, in fact, find the new fare structure complex and inflexible. To wit, Dan B. of Chicago complains:

"The CTA used to sell bus fare cards in even multiples of the $1.50 fare: Pay $13.50 (nine rides), get $15 (10 rides) on the card. Made sense, right? So why did they go to selling cards that are not in even multiples? Now the cost is $10 (6 2/3 rides) to get $11 (7 1/3 rides) on the card. I suppose the CTA was hoping us riders wouldn't notice the discount was cut from 10 percent to 9 percent. If all the CTA wanted to do was to reduce the bonus, couldn't it at least have maintained the formula in exact multiples of the fare? I routinely take the bus, not the train. It's unfair for the CTA to ask me to make a special trip to the vending machines at "L" stations just to add value to a card."

Addressing Dan's last point first: It is high time CTA officials stop merely babbling about how they are going to expand the location of transit card automated vending machines, or AVMs, to include such public facilities as libraries, schools and hospitals. Just do it! We know buying more machines is an expensive outlay, but following more than a year of service cuts, the CTA has enjoyed a banner 1998 because of high sales-tax and farebox revenue.

At the same time, the other argument to be made is that CTA riders who buy their transit cards only at grocery stores solely because they are intimidated by the AVMs--which replaced the sometimes intimidating TBAs (ticket booth agents)--well, these folks ought to give the new technology a chance; it's not bad. Just ask a CTA customer assistant for a demonstration.

Even many riders who haven't suffered AVM stress disorders need to figure out a better game plan, because few people in this category have taken advantage of the CTA discounts offered to date.

Getting Around perused CTA transit-card data and found that, on average, the most popular transaction amounts at the AVMs were $5 (14 percent of ridership) followed by $2, $1, $3, $20, $10 and $1.50. Fewer than 2 percent of the AVM users actually went for the $13.50 bonus.

About 5 percent of CTA revenue was generated by the prevalued $13.50 transit cards and 8 percent from the $16.50 cards, both of which had been sold exclusively at Jewel and Dominick's stores and currency exchanges.

So, if only a small segment or riders was taking advantage of the discount--even though fare cards were used in 41 percent of all rides--it wasn't much of a bargain.

While the CTA's new structure indeed represents an unannounced 1 percent fare hike for some riders, it is an opportunity for many others to catch a price break along with their bus or train. People tend to carry $10s and $20s in their wallets, and the new discount formula will pay a straight 10 percent bonus for each $10 increment of value added to transit cards.

Also keep in mind that:

- Starting Dec. 15, a 30-day pass priced at $75 will replace the CTA's $88 monthly pass. The $44 monthly pass for seniors will be merged with the Accommodation Pass for disabled customers to form the new reduced fare 30-day pass, priced at $35.

- A new seven-day pass, priced at $20, also will debut Dec. 15.

- Packs of 10 full-fare cards will sell for $15, beginning Jan. 1. Reduced-fare riders will be able to buy packs of 20 cards for $13.50. The packs, which will replace full-fare and reduced-fare tokens, will be sold at currency exchanges and Jewel and Dominick's stores.

- The CTA will stop selling tokens on Dec. 31. Our advice is to stop buying them and use up any on hand. The tokens will be accepted for paying fares only until May 31. After that, they are worthless, except perhaps as collectibles. The CTA said it will not buy back tokens or offer refunds.